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{{quotebox|Tuesday, May 16, 2017<br>

{{quotebox|Tuesday, May 16, 2017<br>

At 12:30 pm on 05/16/2017, I met with Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Rod Rosenstein in his office at the Department of Justice. Also present were [[Tashina Gauhar]] and [[Jim Crowell]]. The following is a contemporaneous recollection of the main topics we discussed. I began by telling him that today I approved the opening of an investigation of President Donald Trump.  

At 12:30 pm on 05/16/2017, I met with Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Rod Rosenstein in his office at the Department of Justice. Also present were [[Tashina Gauhar]] and [[Jim Crowell]]. The following is a contemporaneous recollection of the main topics we discussed. I began by telling him that today I approved the opening of an investigation of President Donald Trump.  

I explained that the purpose of the investigation was to investigate allegations of possible collusion between the president and the Russian Government, possible obstruction of justice related to the firing of FBI Director James Comey, and possible conspiracy to obstruct justice.  The DAG questioned what I meant by [[collusion]] and I explained that I was referring to the investigation of any potential links between the Trump campaign and the Russian government. I explained that [[counterintelligence]] investigations of this sort were meant to uncover any the existence of any threat to [[national security]] as well as whether or not criminal conduct had occurred. Regarding the obstruction issues, I made clear that our predication was based not only on the president's comments last week to reporter Lester Holt (that he connected the firing of the director to the FBI's Russia investigation), but also on the several concerning comments the president made to Director Comey over the last few months. These comments included  the President's requests for assurances of loyalty, statements about the Russia investigation and the investigation of [[General Michael Flynn]]. I also informed the DAG that Director Comey preserved his recollection of these interactions in a series of contemporaneously drafted memos. Finally, I informed the DAG that as a result of his role in the matter, I thought he would be a [[witness]] in the case.  

I explained that the purpose of the investigation was to investigate allegations of possible collusion between the president and the Russian Government, possible obstruction of justice related to the firing of FBI Director James Comey, and possible conspiracy to obstruct justice.  The DAG questioned what I meant by [[collusion]] and I explained that I was referring to the investigation of any potential links between the Trump campaign and the Russian government. I explained that [[counterintelligence]] investigations of this sort were meant to uncover any the existence of any threat to [[national security]] as well as whether or not criminal conduct had occurred. Regarding the obstruction issues, I made clear that our predication was based not only on the president's comments last week to reporter Lester Holt (that he connected the firing of the director to the FBI's Russia investigation), but also on the several concerning comments the president made to Director Comey over the last few months. These comments included  the President's requests for assurances of loyalty, statements about the Russia investigation and the investigation of [[General Michael Flynn]]. I also informed the DAG that Director Comey preserved his recollection of these interactions in a series of contemporaneously drafted memos. Finally, I informed the DAG that as a result of his role in the matter, I thought he would be a [[witness]] in the case.